On Friday, U.S. prosecutors accused the Iranian government of hiring a man to initiate assassination plots against perceived enemies, including president-elect Donald Trump. According to an unsealed criminal complaint, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) directed Iranian national Farhad Shakeri in September to monitor Trump and develop a plan to kill him. Shakeri reportedly stated that in early October he was instructed to propose an assassination plan within a week or wait until after the election, under the assumption Trump would lose.
Court filings reveal Shakeri told the FBI he did not intend to carry out the plot. He remains at large and is believed to be in Iran, while two alleged co-conspirators from New York were charged alongside him for a separate murder-for-hire scheme targeting an Iranian-American critical of the regime. Both co-defendants appeared in court in Manhattan on Thursday and are detained awaiting trial.
U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland described Iran as a severe threat to U.S. national security. Following earlier reports of an Iranian threat to Trump, U.S. officials had increased Secret Service protections around him. The 2024 campaign, which culminated in Trump’s victory on Tuesday, has faced threats and foreign interference attempts from countries including Iran and Russia.
During the campaign, Trump survived two failed assassination attempts, and voting in swing states was briefly disrupted by bomb threats linked to Russian email accounts. FBI Director Christopher Wray stated that the charges highlight Iran’s ongoing attempts to target U.S. citizens, including President-elect Trump, government leaders, and Tehran critics.